Apartment Management Fraudsters

[paulnsamantha]

I disputed an entry from my former Apartment provider who put an entry on my mother in laws credit report because my wife and I disputed their cleaning costs - $1300 to clean our apartment!!

We moved out July 31st 2005, having cleaned the apartment thoroughly and even bought a steam cleaner for the carpets. We waited for the bill showing any minor costs which we expected would be taken out of our $600 deposit. 6 weeks later, we received a letter saying "you owe us an additional $714". I called and asked them what this was for as they hadn't provided any breakdown(which by law they should have sent me within 30 days). They sent me one which arrived a week later. They had included money for obscure items that we know we shouldn't be paying for. I wrote and disputed it so they just ignored my letter and reported it on both my mother in laws credit and ours.

My mother in law had co-signed our original lease 18 months earlier. When we resigned our lease in March 2005, the manager had orally confirmed that my mother in laws signature was not required as we had paid our rent on time and they didn't need it.

Now they are trying to get both us and my mother in law to pay this. she is planning to move soon and I wonder what do I need to do to sort this out?

[hinky]

I read recently (can't remember where, sorry), that management cannot charge you for things that they would normally do to any unit before renting it out again. Such as, if they normally paint it or clean the carpets, they can't charge you for that. I wish I could remember where I saw this.

But more importantly: did you do a walk-through when you rented it and when you left? As in, listing all the things that may have been wrong with it? Did you take photos? Did they? If the answer to all of this is "no", and they have no proof, they can't just demand money from you because they say so. It's really sad and aggravating, but I see people talking about this sort of things happening a lot! Because most people cave and pay the bill.

What sorts of things are on the bill? Give us a run-down, please

Edit: also, do you have proof of sending them notice that you disputed it, and did they list it on your CR as "in dispute"?

[lindsay135]

This exact thing happened to me and my mother. If your mother did not sign the new lease they cant report, and that in itself is illegal. Take the apartments to court.